Indian Education Minister Resigns After Weeks of Exam Leak Protests as Student Suicides Hit 14,488
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 9
Indian Education Minister Resigns After Weeks of Exam Leak Protests as Student Suicides Hit 14,488
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 9
Summary
Late-July celebrations followed the Indian education minister’s resignation, which came after weeks of nationwide protests over repeated exam cancellations and leaked question papers.
14,488 student suicides were recorded in India in 2024, up from 8,068 in 2014, with exam failure listed as the leading cause after family problems, according to crime bureau data.
Neet leak fallout featured heavily in families’ accounts: 20-year-old Anshika Pandey and 22-year-old Pradeep Mahich killed themselves days after learning the medical entrance exam would be retaken.
Other families tied the pressure to broader exam-system strain, including syllabus changes before Jee and the long-running backlash to Neet’s national standardization that followed Dalit student S Anitha’s 2017 death.
Relatives welcomed the minister’s exit but said it came too late, pressing for a full investigation and deeper changes to how high-stakes entrance exams are run.